CyberBadge activated!
Sometimes I look at the ordinary things and just see Raspberry Pi inside. Of course, in real life, there is no Pi inside, so I need to build it in there myself. Recently I found a minimalist wallet (or badge) and transformed it into an eInk CyberBadge!
[IMG:With eInk display (285kB)] [SHOW ALL] [IMG:Original wallet/badge (279kB)] [SHOW ALL]
![[IMG:With eInk display (285kB)]](https://developer.run/pic/cyberbadge/cyberbadge-title.jpg){kind=link}
![[IMG:Original wallet/badge (279kB)]](https://developer.run/pic/cyberbadge/cyberbadge-original.jpg){kind=link}
To me, the wallet looked like a perfect sci-fi themed frame for an eInk display. Resulting in some kind of smart badge.
In this case, even Pi-zero is too much, so I was looking for ESP32 based bord. Badgy could be the option, but unfortunately, it is out of stock for a long time. Good thing I've discovered LILYGO® TTGO T5 series. V2.3 fits just right! Even some space left for the battery.
Original wallets back panel are unscrewable by a 1.5mm t5 screwdriver and enclose LILYGO® TTGO T5 V2.3 and 290mh battery perfectly. For a front panel, I've cut a screen-shaped hole in a credit card (wallet originally intended to hold credit cards), then glued it with a carbon film to look nicer. See:
[IMG:Front (116kB)] [SHOW ALL] [IMG:Back (back panel unscrewed) (166kB)] [SHOW ALL]
![[IMG:Front (116kB)]](https://developer.run/pic/cyberbadge/cyberbadge-plain.jpg){kind=link}
![[IMG:Back (back panel unscrewed) (166kB)]](https://developer.run/pic/cyberbadge/cyberbadge-bottom.jpg){kind=link}
Also, the wallet has openings on both sides, allowing access the on/off switch (with a screwdriver) and USB port (if you have a really flat cable).
[IMG:Left (119kB)] [SHOW ALL] [IMG:Right (136kB)] [SHOW ALL]
![[IMG:Left (119kB)]](https://developer.run/pic/cyberbadge/cyberbadge-left.jpg){kind=link}
![[IMG:Right (136kB)]](https://developer.run/pic/cyberbadge/cyberbadge-right.jpg){kind=link}
Note that the screen is monochrome, not grayscale (no greyish mid-tones like you might have seen on Kindle). It has only 2 colors, so I need to get pixel-perfect black-and-white images. To get a nice looking monochrome photo I went on pipeline: remove.bg→Ajust levels in Krita→ditherpunk→Img2Code.
[IMG:Wear (491kB)] [SHOW ALL] [IMG:Original (279kB)] [SHOW ALL]
As a bonus let me share some pixel perfect-images, if you want some design:![[IMG:Wear (491kB)]](https://developer.run/pic/cyberbadge/cyberbadge-wear.jpg){kind=link}
[IMG:aurora (1kB)] [SHOW ALL] [IMG:security (2kB)] [SHOW ALL] [IMG:uac (1kB)] [SHOW ALL] [IMG:securitybw (0kB)] [SHOW ALL] [IMG:cyberpunkchinese (1kB)] [SHOW ALL]
![[IMG:aurora (1kB)]](https://developer.run/pic/cyberbadge/aurora.gif){kind=link}
![[IMG:security (2kB)]](https://developer.run/pic/cyberbadge/security.gif){kind=link}
![[IMG:uac (1kB)]](https://developer.run/pic/cyberbadge/uac.gif){kind=link}
![[IMG:securitybw (0kB)]](https://developer.run/pic/cyberbadge/security_bw.gif){kind=link}
![[IMG:cyberpunkchinese (1kB)]](https://developer.run/pic/cyberbadge/cyberpunk_chinese.gif){kind=link}
FAQ
Q: Why do you need that?
A: I don't know. My conference speaking days are over, and will there be any conferences at all? It was just a cool thing to build, that's all.
Q: Why are you keep making all these weird devices. Do you guys not have smartphones? ©
A: You know, sci-fi movies promised us cool devices like Multi-Pass. But all we've got are boring glass rectangles with no character. So I need to have some cool stuff from that alternate timeline :)
#DIY #ESP32 #LilyGO #CyberPunk #SciFi
